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Motorola RAZR
Motorola RAZR
Screen 176×220 pixels TFT LCD
Ringtone Polyphonic
Memory 23 MB
Networks CDMA, GSM/GPRS
Connectivity mini-USB, Bluetooth
Physical size 53 mm×98 mm×14.5 mm (V3m)
Weight 99 g

Motorola RAZR[1] is a thin clamshell camera phone from Motorola announced on July 27, 2004[2]. The phone was initially regarded as an exclusive fashion phone[3], with a high price of $500 with service agreement and $800 without. However, in 2005 the phone entered the mass-market as a mid-priced phone. As of September 2006, the phone was available in the UK from £89.97 from Tesco , in Australia for $279 from Virgin Mobile, in Mexico for MXN$2999 from Telcel, in Canada for $449.99 (99.99 with a 3-year contract), and can be obtained free in the United States after rebate (from T-Mobile and Cingular Wireless, the original US carrier for the RAZR), making it an upper end-budget phone. In 2005, PC World put RAZR at #12 in The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years[4].

Contents

[edit] History

The two versions of the RAZR's unique keypad
The two versions of the RAZR's unique keypad

Two of the phone's most prominent features are its thinness and the positioning of its internal antenna at the base below the mouthpiece.

By July 2005, Motorola reported to analysts that the RAZR V3 was the most popular clamshell in Europe[citation needed], something that it owes almost entirely to its distinctive looks and small size. It was one of the first phones to have a 2.2 inch (diagonal) LCD screen which supports 262,000 colors.

Motorola released a CDMA version of the RAZR for Verizon Wireless, US Cellular, and ALLTEL on November 21, 2005, called the RAZR V3c. The V3c was adopted by Canadian carriers Bell Mobility and Telus Mobility in February 2006. Changes in the CDMA version include a slightly thicker form factor (primarily due to a "bulge" around the camera lens), more internal memory (30 MB), a higher resolution 1.3 megapixel camera, and CDMA20001xEV-DO support. However, the V3c has a 2.2 inch internal screen which only supports 65,536 colors, and the weight has increased from 95 g to 99 g.

Motorola announced the Motorola V1150, which was renamed as the Motorola RAZR V3x, a 3G phone with two cameras and support for microSD transflash memory cards. Motorola has confirmed that the phone is not intended as the successor to the RAZR, and that "RAZR V3x" is simply a new name for the existing V1150. It has also been confirmed that the phone will not be released in the US.

As of March 10, 2006, the companies Cingular Wireless and T-Mobile USA temporarily stopped selling the RAZR, due to a technical glitch that caused the phone to drop calls or shut down. [5] Reportedly the glitch has been resolved.[6]

On July 18, 2006 Motorola announced it had shipped the 50 millionth RAZR, making it the most popular cell phone of any kind.

[edit] RAZR models

Generation and model Image Screen Notes and changes Network Size Weight Release date
1G V3 262,000 colors First release. GSM / GPRS 53 mm×98 mm×13.9 mm 95 g July 27, 2004
2G
V3i 1.23 megapixel camera with 8x digital zoom, an improved external display, and support for up to 2GB of TransFlash/microSD cards.
V3im
MS500
3G V3c
V3m CDMA
V3x
M702iS
RAZR MAXX V6

[edit] 2G Models

[edit] V3

The original RAZR V3 GPRS phone is carried by Cingular, Cincinnati Bell, and T-Mobile in the USA, Rogers Wireless, Fido, Telus, Bell Mobility and Sasktel in Canada, Telcel in Mexico, Vodafone in New Zealand and Australia, and by many companies in other countries.

[edit] Black version

Image:The Motorola RAZR family.JPG
The evolution of the RAZR V3 Family, including six colours of the original V3, the V3i, and the renamed V3x

A black version was produced for distribution in the 77th Academy Awards gift bags[7], and was released in early May 2005. As of September 2005, the black version is available in the USA only from Cingular, Canada only from Fido Solutions or Rogers Wireless and in many other countries from Movistar and Claro (Telcel).

The black V3 is the standard version of the phone in the United Kingdom and Peru.

[edit] Pink versions

The first pink version was released in October 2005, and as of June 2006, is available in the USA from T-Mobile (as RAZR V3 Magenta, after the T-Mobile—and its parent, Deutsche Telekom's—corporate color, but called RAZR V3 Pink in other countries, including other T-Mobile networks), Verizon and Cingular Wireless (each in a different shade, currently exclusive to the US). It is available in Canada from Bell, Rogers Wireless and Telus, and in the United Kingdom from T-Mobile and the Carphone Warehouse. $25 of sales from the Rogers pink V3 will go to Rethink Breast Cancer. It is also available in all Movistar-serviced countries and Claro (Telcel).

[edit] Blue Version

The blue version was released in the United Kingdom. It is called the RAZR V3 Light Blue but it is actually mostly silver with a light shade of blue. It is available from T-Mobile in the UK and Movistar in Peru. A darker "Cosmic Blue" Version is also available from Rogers Wireless in Canada, and Virgin Mobile in the United Kingdom. Now Cincinnati Bell, a local wireless service provider in Cincinnati, offers a navy blue RAZR V3. As of June 2006, Cingular also offers a model which is blue on the exterior with silver interior (i.e. when phone is open, exposed surfaces are silver). As of July 2006, Australian Telecommunications giant Telstra is offering the V3x Blue (As well as Pink) version for $0 upfront on a $20 plan.

[edit] V3i

Image:Cingular v3i.jpg
The RAZR V3i
The RAZR V3i keypad
The RAZR V3i keypad

The successor to the RAZR is the RAZR V3i. It addresses some of the faults of the original V3, including a better (1.23 megapixel) camera with 8x digital zoom, an improved external display, and support for up to 2GB of TransFlash/microSD cards. The V3i comes in two versions: one with iTunes and one with Motorola's Digital Music Player (DAP). The iTunes version of the phone, however, does have either a 50 song cap or a 100 song cap. This "cap" seems to be completly random. Apple may later release an update for the phones with the 50 song cap to be raised to 100 songs. DAP, however, takes considerably longer time to load and uses more battery than iTunes, however, there is no cap on songs. The phones looks have also been subtley tuned. It was announced on December 8, 2005 that Motorola had teamed up with Dolce & Gabbana to produce a Special Edition Gold RAZR V3i. Only 1000 of these have been made, and sold for a high price. Many of them can now be seen on eBay.

On June 1, 2006, Motorola and Dolce & Gabbana have once again released their limited edition gold phone. This model includes a D&G cell phone holder, a signature leather pouch, Bluetooth headphone, and FM earphones. It is available from all major Motorola stockists and select D&G boutiques.

The V3i is availble in the following colors:

  • Brushed Metal Silver(main color)
  • GunMetal Grey (as pictured on the right)
  • Gold Plate (special edition DG version only, see above)
  • Dark Blue
  • Maroon
  • Violet

The Motorola RAZR V3i was released to most worldwide markets in the Q4 of 2005. In the U.S. the phone was released through Cingular Wireless on September 6, 2006, with a new activation price of $299.

[edit] V3im

The V3im is a version of the RAZR v3i available in the UK market with a 100 song cap on iTunes.[8]

[edit] MS500

Another version of this phone has released in South Korea on June 1, 2005. This version has the same physical appearance as the original V3's but instead of GSM, its a CDMA phone. It is first CDMA version of V3i without the expandable memory, Since Motorola Korea's system able to produce its own model before worldwide GSM format release. It has a 1.3 megapixel camera, video, bluetooth and 80MB of internal memory. It also comes in different colours than the models mentioned above. Black and Pink models are seen around Korea. In February 8, 2006 Motorola Korea released its own slide-phone model for razr aka named Z model name MS600.

[edit] 3G Models

[edit] V3c

On November 21, 2005, a CDMA version of the RAZR, known as the RAZR V3c, became available to Alltel Wireless users. Verizon Wireless followed suit on December 7, 2005. Unlike models for Alltel and other carriers, Verizon's V3c features a proprietary interface and disabled Bluetooth file transfer (OBEX), although it is supported in firmware version .02 and some releases of .04. In January 2006, Canadian TELUS, Bell Mobility and Aliant Mobility, Venezuelan carriers movistar and Movilnet, and Brazilian Vivo began carrying the v3c. The RAZR V3c supports CDMA 2000 1xRTT and 1xEVDO third generation wireless technologies. This is the technology Verizon Wireless uses to provide their V CAST multimedia service. The coverage of this feature, however, may not be available everywhere. US Cellular and ACS (Alaska Communication Systems) Alaska's CDMA provider, also carries the V3c. It also has approximately 31.8 mb of internal memory, but it doesn't sport an expandable memory card slot.

The original version of the V3c was charcoal gray, and a light pink version (different from the GSM Magenta/Pink and the Cingular Cotton Candy versions) was released by Verizon Wireless in January 2006. TELUS Mobility, Bell, Aliant, and Vivo also carry pink versions of the V3c.

[edit] V3m

The V3m is a new CDMA version of the RAZR. It is an upgrade to the V3c, featuring a microSD card slot for up to 2 GB of memory expansion, a longer lasting battery, and music playing capabilities. The V3m presently comes in silver and pink, although the original release featured the gunmetal gray color of the V3c. This is not available in the UK, although the V3x is on sale there.

[edit] V3x

The RAZR V3x
The RAZR V3x

Announced in March 2005, The RAZR V3x was formerly known as the Motorola V1150. Externally, it is similar to the RAZR V3, albeit with enhancements such as a 2.0 Megapixel camera. Internally, it is quite different, utilizing a different microprocessor, chipset, and radio ICs. As a 3G product, its feature set is closer to that of phones such as the Motorola V980, e.g., two cameras instead of the single camera typical on GSM or CDMA products.

[edit] M702iS

In Japan, a 3G(WCDMA) NTT DoCoMo version of the V3x is being released in late August 2006. (This version will not have GSM, there will also be a WCDMA+GSM version call m702iG)[9]

[edit] Specifications of the V3x

  • Technology: WCDMA/UMTS and GSM 900/1800/1900
  • Dimensions: 99 mm×55 mm×20 mm (89 cc)
  • Weight/Mass: 125 g
  • Primary display: 240×320 pixel (33×45 mm) TFT, 256,000 colors
  • Secondary display: 98×80 pixel STN, 65,000 colors
  • Ringtones: Polyphonic (24 channels) and MP3
  • Supports microSD (TransFlash) external memory cards
  • Connectivity: GPRS Class 10 (4+1/3+2), USB, Bluetooth v1.2
  • Messaging: SMS, EMS, MMS, E-Mail, Instant Messaging
  • Two-way video calling / video telephony
  • Integrated media player (with progressive media downloading)
  • Dual internal (VGA) / external cameras (2.0 MP, Macro Mode, LED)
  • Video and still image capture using either camera
  • Motorola SCREEN3 push technology for dynamic news and content
  • Java MIDP 2.0 Compatible
  • WAP 2.0 / xHTML web browser

[edit] RAZR MAXX V6

The V6 is a new G3 handset based on the RAZR V3. It is set for release in the US for Cingular in 2007. From the images it appears it will be significantly larger than the current V3i. It has external buttons for MP3s. (Click for V6 pictures [1][2][3][4][5][6])

[edit] Developments

The original V3 was a pinnacle of functionality when it was first released, but compared to recent "copycats" and further advancements in the cell phone industry, is now of relatively limited functionality. It has only 5.5 MB of usable memory capacity, upgradable to an absolute maximum of about 10 MB by modding the phone (see below for details). Furthermore it has no storage expansion slot and a low camera resolution of 0.3 megapixels (Resolution: 640x480 px).

The newer models (V3i and V3x) address these issues by increasing memory capacity to 30.8 MB and 62.8 respectively. Camera resolutions have been upgraded to 1.3 megapixels for the V3i, and 2.0 megapixels for the V3x. The hinge mechanism has also been reinforced.

For the V3x, Motorola slightly modified the keypad layout in response to complaints about it being difficult to use. The keys are bigger and more widely spaced, and rubber spacers have been added in between, instead of the laser-etchings on the metallic surface itself as seen previously.

[edit] Criticisms

In practice, the GSM versions of the RAZR can only support packet-switched data transfer speeds of about 40kbit/s using GPRS technology. Most other high-end (and even mid-level) phones nowadays support an enchanced version of GPRS called EDGE which supports much higher data transfer speeds. [citation needed]

Original models of the RAZR are said to be very fragile and easily breakable if dropped.

Functionality was restricted in the V3c version to disable OBEX file transfer on Verizon models thus allowing only ring tones and other files to be purchased instead of loaded using OBEX as in other RAZR versions.

[edit] Modding

As a result of the overwhelming popularity of the RAZR, the modding community has been phenomenally successful in cracking the phones' underlying structures and developing "mods" that users can implement on their own handsets.

By modding the V3 RAZR it is possible to unlock special features not available on the stock phone. The most common mods include adding video recording support, uploading Java games from a PC, changing the image on the outer LCD screen (the "cl.gif", which normally displays the carrier's logo), getting rid of the service provider lock, adding date and time display on the main menu screen, adding new "skins", altering the text and menu items, and much more.

The V3c on Verizon Wireless carries Verizon's unique GUI, for example, which is more cumbersome than the standard Motorola GUI, and many of the phone's features are crippled. Through modding, the Verizon interface can be replaced by ALLTEL's, giving it the original Motorola user interface, a faster button response time, and a few additional features.

Detailed guides on a variety of modifiable features, software downloads and other resources are available at the following sites:

  • MotoModders.net -- An online community of Motorola phone modders, containing a comprehensive knowledge base.
  • MotoX.info -- Another online community of Motorola phone modders, an initiative from a member of the site above, MotoX.
  • Motorola.howardforums.com -- An internet community dedicated to modifying several phone brands, including Motorola phones.
  • hack the razr! -- A website with a lot of guides and tutorials that allow you to unlock and modify many features that Verizon crippled with the release of the v3m

[edit] See also

[edit] Notes and references

  1. ^ Pronounced "razor."
  2. ^ Rojas, Peter (2004-07-26). Motorola's ultrathin V3 cameraphone. Engadget. Retrieved on 2006-09-11.
  3. ^ German, Kent (2005-11-09). Razr refresh: Motorola's fashion cell phones. CNET. Retrieved on 2006-09-10.
  4. ^ Tynan, Dan. "The 50 Greatest Gadgets of the Past 50 Years", PC World, 2005-12-24. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. 
  5. ^ http://news.techwhack.com/3261/motorola-razr/
  6. ^ "Motorola Moves Beyond RAZR Glitch", Forbes, 2006-05-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. 
  7. ^ Kane, Margaret. "Oscar goody bags looking Razr sharp", CNET News.com, 2006-01-31. Retrieved on 2006-09-10. 
  8. ^ http://direct.motorola.com/eng/web_producthome.asp?Country=GBR&language=ENG&productid=30519
  9. ^ FOMA M702iS (Japanese). NTT DoCoMo (2006). Retrieved on 2006-09-10.

[edit] External links


http://www.cnet.com.au/mobilephones/phones/0,239025955,240002902,00.htm

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